ELVIS Ambient Light

Everyday we interact with hundreds of objects through switches, buttons, touch, voice, etc. As technology advances, how can we bring back the lost feeling of touch? How might we design an ambient light that gives the user a multi sensory experience? Elvis is an individual personal project that I worked on in September 2016 to explore applications and uses of OLED light panels. The project is the winner of Industrial design distinction award at Taipei International Design Award 2016 and a finalist of LAMP design competition award 2016.

The New - Old

The size and thickness of the OLED panels allow a lot of possibilities to imagine ways of interaction with lights in our space. I used this opportunity to focus on a mood light that can capture the user into a multi sensory experience.

ELVIS

ELVIS works by sliding the front panel up to increase brightness and sliding it down to dim it down. ELVIS can be placed anywhere on the wall, but it's primary position would be somewhere close to the bed. The light itself acts as the switch, where one can use maximum brightness (slide up) for reading and minimum brightness (Slide down) as a night lamp.

The making of...

After experimenting mechanisms with ABS and plastic, I moved on to making ELVIS come to life. I used scrap aluminium from a car's custom spoiler. After cutting and bending it, I fixed a plastic housing to it, to make place for the LEDS. And finally an Arduino Uno to power and program it.

Proto-gramming

I used an Arduino to program the circuit with the help of a good friend (Shoutout to Ritwik!), and after we made all the necessary connections, the circuit was ready. The potentiometer value is programmed to change the brightness of the light. We used an LED strip to simulate the OLED panel. The actual product, if ever made would be made in a much thinner profile by shifting to microcontrollers and OLED panels.

All Elvis needs is a wall

The design allows flexible positioning on any wall. Apart from it's primary position which is next to the bed, Elvis can be used for outdoor lighting, work areas, living room, etc. The soft fabric leaves enough room for customizing the look of the lamp to match the environment.